"We don't see the real costs of AI."

That's Jean-Marc Frangos, ex-BT in Silicon Valley, now running AI at Shimizu, one of Japan's "Big 5" contractors, founded in 1804.

We sat down with him to unpack how a 220 year old builder actually rolls out AI across a 20,000 person workforce.

The playbook, not the hype:

✅ Start with your data, not the model

✅ 5,000+ staff on one AI platform in ~7 months

✅ When the subsidies end, undisciplined teams get hit "like a ton of bricks"

🎧 Full episode out now.

#bricksandbytes #bricksbytes #bricksbucksandbytes #aec #construction #constructiontech #ai #vc

Our Sponsors:

BreadCrumb- 50,000+ projects globally. All running safer, faster, with Breadcrumb. - breadcrumb.co

Aphex is the multiplayer planning platform where construction teams plan together, stay aligned, and deliver projects faster – check out aphex.co

Archdesk - “The #1 Construction Management Software for Growing Companies - Manage your projects from Tender to Handover” check archdesk.com

00:00 Intro

00:33 Inside Japanese construction and innovation

05:58 What is a "genecon"? Shimizu and Japan's super contractors

07:49 Sponsors

10:58 From telecom to construction: Jean-Marc's career path

17:11 Japan vs Silicon Valley: how innovation actually happens

22:49 How Japanese construction trains its workforce

27:21 How Shimizu adopts AI and new technology

33:26 Why AI adoption in construction is accelerating

36:11 Specialized AI tools vs general models

38:03 RAG explained: AI data retrieval in construction

41:34 AI model routing to cut costs

43:56 Rolling out AI across a large organization

47:55 AI governance: tracking ROI and real benefits

55:39 The future of construction robotics

59:19 The cultural roots of Japan's innovation mindset

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This week's briefing covers three conversations every construction leader should sit with.

Ryan Maibach runs Barton Malow, a five billion dollar builder with over a hundred years of history. He is turning work away in the best market his firm has ever seen, and that is not the surprising part. The surprising part is what worries him most. A large chunk of what builders get paid for is knowing things the client does not. If AI hands that knowledge to the client directly, what exactly are you selling?

Rob Painter runs Trimble and arrives at the same warning from the other side. Construction got faster task by task and never fixed the system those tasks sit inside. His read on AI is identical, and his advice to any CEO trying to navigate it is blunt. You cannot delegate understanding the thing that is about to reshape your business.

And then Ukraine. Not the war as you have seen it on the news, but what is being built underneath it. A country that moved from software to world leading drone technology out of necessity is now positioning construction tech as the next step. The rebuild has not started yet, because you cannot rebuild what you have not counted, and something new gets destroyed even as you are counting it.

Three conversations. One question running through all of them.

Join the argument in the comments of this week's LinkedIn post.

Ukraine's reconstruction has been estimated at $588 billion by the World Bank's Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA5), although our guest argues the true figure is likely higher.In this episode of Bricks, Bucks & Bytes, we speak with Oleg Demydenko, Chair of Ukraine's National ConTech Cluster, about the technologies, engineering approaches and digital systems emerging during Ukraine's reconstruction.We also discuss:* Why Ukraine's reconstruction is currently estimated at $588 billion (World Bank RDNA5)* How new infrastructure is being designed with modular, distributed and replaceable systems* Why Oleg says, "We have no time to sell it. We've already developed a new one."* NVIDIA's AI factory in Ukraine* Why Patric Hellermann believes humanoid robots are an overhyped investment category* Agility Robotics going public via a SPAC after deploying around 100 humanoid robotsIf you're interested in construction, construction technology, AI, robotics, infrastructure and venture capital, this episode explores the ideas, technologies and investment themes discussed by our panel.#construction #constructiontechnology #contech #ukraine #ai #robotics #infrastructure #venturecapitalOur Sponsors:BreadCrumb- 50,000+ projects globally. All running safer, faster, with Breadcrumb. - breadcrumb.coAphex is the multiplayer planning platform where construction teams plan together, stay aligned, and deliver projects faster – check out aphex.coArchdesk - “The #1 Construction Management Software for Growing Companies - Manage your projects from Tender to Handover” check archdesk.comChapters00:00 Intro00:58 What We're Building for the ConTech Community02:01 Wispr Flow Voice AI: Owen's Honest Take03:29 Agility Robotics SPAC: Should Robots Go Public?05:50 How Much Is a Humanoid Robot Actually Worth?09:29 Humanoid Robotics: The Problems Nobody Talks About13:32 Can Humanoid Robots Be Used in War?16:01 Rebuilding Ukraine: The $588 Billion Plan23:32 How the War Is Changing Construction Technology27:36 Modular Steel That Protects Ukraine's Power Grid30:14 Designing Buildings to Survive Attacks32:46 Why Modular Construction Is the Future36:25 How Much of Ukraine Is Actually Destroyed?40:17 Ukrainian Founders: Stop Changing Your Name43:57 Is the Ukraine War Reaching a Turning Point?